ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – Some “Breaking Bad” fans are behaving badly by recreating one of Walter White’s scenes at his home in the Heights. But in real life, the family who lives there is getting frustrated, and now the creator of AMC’s hit television drama series has a message for those unruly fans.
Frances Padilla and her husband have lived in the home for more than 40 years, but the last few years have gotten frustrating because of a few out of control “Breaking Bad” fans.
“Most people are respectful. It’s the few idiots that come that think they’re entitled to do whatever the hell they want, and it’s not going to happen,” she said. “If you’re going to be a jerk, stay the hell away,” Padilla said.
Ever since a particular episode when a frustrated Walter White throws pizza on the roof, Padilla has also endured fans reenacting that scene. “They’ve been doing it since the beginning: pizzas on the roof since after that scene,” she said.“Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan addressed the pizza-throwing problem on a podcast about the “Breaking Bad” prequel “Better Call Saul.”
“I want to open with a bit of a downer,” he began. “They are throwing pizzas on roofs and stuff like that. Let me tell you, there is nothing original or funny or cool about throwing a pizza on this lady’s roof,” Gilligan said.
Jonathan Banks, who played Mike Ehrmantraut in both episodes that showed White throwing the pizza and later cleaning it up off his roof, joked on the podcast, “If I catch you doing it, I will hunt you down.” Gilligan replied, “I’m with you, I’m with you brother.”
“It is just not funny. It’s been done before. You are not the first,” said Gilligan. “We love our fans. I don’t love those fans. I don’t even consider them fans. I consider them jag-offs,” he said.
Ann Lerner, film liaison with the Albuquerque Film Office, said, “That’s not cool, so if you would like to maybe donate pizza to the food pantries, or to Roadrunner Food Bank, and do it in Walter White’s honor, that’d be another way that would could handle this.”
Padilla said most fans are respectful and take their pictures from the street.
“It’s disrespectful and you wouldn’t want somebody doing it to your house,” said Steven Austin, who stopped off to see the White home on a road trip to the Grand Canyon.
“I think it’s rude and kinda gives a bad name to the fans,” said Sam Nelson, a fan of the series from Springfield, Missouri.
“If people trespass on my property, I’m going to prosecute them. Period. That’s it,” Padilla said.
“I don’t regret doing it. Nobody thought this was going to take off like this. We have people coming from all over the world, and we welcome them–as long as they’re respectful,” she said.
Copyright KRQE 2015